Ah, nuts!
Francesca's Organic/Bio Nuts
Francesca's Organic/Bio Nuts
Now that I'm home, I buy produce at the farmers' market on Saturday mornings (there are others on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, as well) something I rarely did in the past. I miss Metz much more than I missed Bristol, perhaps because I met more people in France than in England (go figure, my spoken French is horrible and English is my mother tongue). This ritual is similar to my Saturday mornings there, maybe that is why I have latched onto it.
The mushroom lady...
Sorry, I don't have a business name for her!
Sorry, I don't have a business name for her!
Free samples from Swank Farms,
Organic/Bio produce
Then there are the samples. Many vendors here set out sample plates. French vendors will give you a sample taste if you ask, but they don't generally set out a whole spread. I think there are actually people who come to the farmers' market with the intent of making a meal of the freebies!
This week, I picked up some chanterelles to put in a crème sauce I saw on Les Cuisines de Garance, except I added a dash of the pasta water, which contained vegetable stock. Crème sauces tend to be a little heavy for my taste, and the stock lightened it up and added a subtle complexity without overpowering the mushrooms.
Bon weekend!
More Information: Pacific Coast Farmers' Market Association
Many interesting aspects in this post. From reading blogs I am under the impression going to farmers' markets is very hip in the US - something the sophisticated intellectual people do. Am I right? Also I am under the impression farmers' markets are a relatively young "movement".
ReplyDeleteIn Germany you just can take a sample, somtimes there are sample plates (as with cheese, bread, melons, all the huge stuff) but usually you don't ask but just take a cherry, a grape, whatever. It just depends on how manageable it is to take a sample - I don't think you will have many friends when you come with your butcher's knife and chop off some meat from a lamb's leg ... lol ... funny to imagine ... ;-)
Yes, the market crowd in the US does tend to be from a relatively wealthy socioeconomic background. That's probably why I avoided them before!
ReplyDeleteOne of my e-pals from Mallorca said they don't allow you to take samples there, and even if they don't speak English, they can say "don't touch" or "don't eat."
What amuses me is those people who go to the regular supermarkets in the U.S. and "sample" foods as they go along. Eating before you buy is a little presumptuous...and I'm sure the cashier loves scanning an opened container that's dripping with half eaten food!
ReplyDeleteAh, so it is totally different in Spain. I would really be taken aback when someone denied me a cherry etc. for tasting ... .
ReplyDeleteWhat Timoteo said is not so unusual in Germany, you may open your chocolate bar or your soda bottle as long as you pay for it at last, ;-).
I have never opened something before paying, which is probably good for me, because there have been occasions when I've gotten to the cashier and realized I'd forgotten my wallet!
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it I thought the Spaniards had a reputation for being laid-back. I guess they don't when it comes to samples...
The markets in France are, bar none, the best! All that soap! And those chickens! Mmmmmm
ReplyDeleteI adore Farmer's Markets. Many they have here are more expensive produce, but when I up north, I"m thrilled with the finds.
ReplyDeleteInteresting post. Enjoyed it.
Speaking of chickens, MAWB, they had LIVE ones at the markets in El Salvador! I miss the easy availability of rabbit and duck.
ReplyDeleteThe Farmers'markets in the Bay Area CAN be less expensive than supermarkets for certain items, Jobhunter, especially the produce. Since it's a cash business, they are often willing to drop prices, particularly if you buy in quantity or toward the end of the day. Some people haggle, but I'm the only asian in the world who is too shy to do that!